Mary Ada HIGGINS

W. R. (Bob) Higgins
1879-1956

Father

Mary Ada Wood Higgins
1877-1956

Mother

*Photo/information, courtesy of Mary (Coggin) Russell

*Obituary W.R. (Bob) Higgins
Pioneer Cattleman's Funeral Rites Today

Funeral services for W.R. (Bob) Higgins, 77, early settler and widely known cattleman, will be held at 2 p.m. today from the First Baptist Church in Hereford. Rev. Howard Scott, pastor, will officiate at the services.

Mr. Higgins died in the Deaf Smith County hospital Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 8 p.m. following an illness of two years' duration. He had been confined to the hospital since March 18, 1956.

(Bob", as Mr. Higgins was known over the entire area by young and old, was born Aug. 8, 1879, at Old Fort [sic], Tenn. At the age of eight, he came to Texas with his family, and settled in Wilbarger County, near Vernon.

"We came by train, livery buggy and 'ankle express'," Bob often told friends in recounting his early day experiences. In the fall of 1898 Bob decided to again "go West" and, this time, landed in Deaf Smith County.

"A small grocery store, a tent restaurant and a water tank," was Bob's general description of Hereford when he arrived. "before the railroad" and, as Bob always insisted, "15 years before the moon".

During these first years, he worked for his uncle, Billy Higgins, for Jack Killough and for Andrew J. Lipscomb as a ranch hand. Later, he went to work for the three-million-acre XIT Ranch, Escabada Division, as a full-fledged cowhand.

"We had great times," Bob always said regarding these years. "We drove cattle all over the Panhandle - and there wasn't a wire fence for 300 miles in any direction." He also recalled as the most hectic of pioneer hardships, the sweeping prairie fires, especially the one in 1906, which roared in from New Mexico, burning a strip over 125 miles long and 50 miles wide.

On Aug. 15, 1907, he married Miss Mary Ada Wood at Quitman, Wood County, and brought his bride to Deaf Smith County. They settled on his ranch 10 miles northwest of Hereford and made their home there until 1943, when they moved into town. Until 1943, Mr. Higgins was proud of the fact that he was the only person living on the land on which he originally filed.

By this time his two sections, one purchased for $16, had grown to 14 sections, and he had become widely known as a cattleman and outstanding breeder of purebred Hereford cattle.

During these years, Mr. Higgins contributed much to the growth and expansion of Hereford and to Deaf Smith County, always taking an active part in community affairs. He was most widely known, however, as a practical joker, and never missed an opportunity to inject humor into a situation.

"When Bob got there, things always picked up!" Such was the opinion of his friends and neighbors, who say that Bob Higgins contributed more to the morale of this area than any other man, especially during periods of drouth [sic], depressions, and other difficult times. This quality Bob continued down through the years, making him one of the most widely known and best loved of the old timers who continued to reside in the area and to attend the Pioneer Reunions from year to year.

He is survived by his widow, Mary Ada Higgins of Hereford; two sons, A.B. Higgins of Hereford and G.T. Higgins, of Arlington, Colo.; two sisters, Mrs. Mattie Comer of Clovis and Mrs. Dora Suggs of Hereford; one brother, Jim Higgins, Hereford.

Pall bearers will be Kellar Muse, Bill Cocanougher, Bill Hutson, G.W. Suggs, Hilton Higgins and James Ellis Higgins.

Interment will be made in West Park Cemetery under direction of Gililland Funeral Home.

(Published in The Hereford Brand, 55th Year-No. 32, Hereford, Texas, Thursday, August 9, 1956, Page 1)
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U.S., WWI Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918
Name: Higgins, William Robert
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1879
City/County: Deaf Smith
State: TX
Ethnicity: W

Texas, County Marriage Records, 1817-1965
Name: W R Higgins
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 15 Aug 1907
Marriage Place: Wood, Texas, USA
Spouse: Ada Wood
Film Number: 001632007

U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
Name: William Robert Higgins
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1879
Residence Place: Hereford, Texas, USA
Military Draft Date: 1942
Relationship to Draftee: Head

Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: W R Higgins
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 76
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1879
Birth Place: Tennessee
Residence: Hereford, Deaf Smith, Texas, USA
Death Date: 7 Aug 1956
Death Place: Hereford, Deaf Smith, Texas, USA
Father: Geo T Higgins
Mother: Isabell Boyd

U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
Name: William Robert Higgins
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Date: 8 Aug 1879
Birth Place: Old Fort, Tennessee
Father: George T Higgins
Mother: Isabel Boyd
Notes: Apr 1957: Name listed as WILLIAM ROBERT HIGGINS

Contributed on 6/21/22 by neldapat
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Record #: 520859

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